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University Of Winchester Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide

Welcome to our guide on data breach claims against the University of Winchester. In the wake of a data breach, if your personal information or privacy is compromised, and you suffer financial or mental damage, you could pursue compensation.

A university processes a lot of data for students past and present. Staff and donors will also have their information processed by a university. As such, a university must abide by data protection law. This is to make sure your personal information is secure. And just like any other ‘data controller’, the University of Winchester must be compliant.

University of Winchester data breach claims guide

University of Winchester data breach claims guide

Our guide explains the laws that protect your personal data. We go into your rights as a ‘data subject’. You will also find information on when to file a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The authority has the power to fine organisations that break the rules.

You will also find advice on No Win No Fee data breach claims. For more information please read our guide. Alternatively, to speak to an adviser about data breach claims against the University of Winchester, please call 0800 073 8804.

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A Guide To Data Breach Claims Against The University Of Winchester

You may have already read about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The EU data protection legislation became law when the Data Protection Act 2018 was enacted. The law now requires that all organisations (data controllers and processors) deal with data they collect, store and process more carefully. Furthermore, individuals (data subjects) have more control over how data is processed since the new laws passed.

Universities are bound by data protection law. As such our guide looks at data breaches involving the University of Winchester. If your data is compromised in a breach, you could start private legal proceedings for compensation if you go on to suffer mental or financial damage.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) takes data breaches very seriously. The authority has the power to investigate a breach and issue heavy fines if a data controller or processor breaks the law. That said, the ICO will not award data breach compensation and the authority does not handle claims.

When data controllers and processors collect information on students, alumni, and staff, robust security protocols must be in place to ensure it is secure. If your personal data is leaked, the consequences can be far-reaching. Data could be altered, lost, destroyed, disclosed, or accessed unlawfully. The event could happen accidentally, intentionally, or illegally, but whatever the cause, you could sue for compensation if you suffer either mental harm or financial damage.

Our guide provides essential advice on getting legal advice when seeking data breach compensation. We explain how Legal Expert can be of assistance, and how you could be represented on a No Win No Fee basis.

Data Breach Claims Against the University of Winchester Time Limits

You have to respect the time limits linked to data breach claims. You have 6 years from the date you gained knowledge of the breach to seek compensation. If your human rights are affected by a breach, you only have 1 year to claim.  As such, it is best to seek legal advice to find out which deadline applies to your case as soon as possible.

To receive free legal advice regarding data breach claims against the University of Winchester, please get in touch with an adviser today.

What Is A Breach Of Data Protection?

You may be wondering what would constitute a breach of data protection and how an incident might occur. Every organisation (data controllers) in the United Kingdom must comply with the law. A university stores private and sensitive data, as such data protection law applies to the institution.

The General Data Protection Regulation together with the Data Protect Act 2018, obliges organisations to protect your information. It would be a breach of data protection when a university fails to comply with data breach law and your personal information is exposed.

An example of a serious data breach that affected numerous UK universities involved Blackbaud. This company suffered a ransomware attack in which hackers stole personal information and user passwords. Blackbaud took the step to pay the hackers the ransom.

A number of UK universities were affected by the Blackbaud breach and below, we’ll take a look at them.

Source: https://universitybusiness.co.uk/headlines/data-breach-at-eight-uk-universities

How A Breach of Data Protection Could Happen

A breach of data protection could happen for several reasons. However, there are typically two main causes and these are:

  • Breaches that occur because of an accident or mistake. This is typically due to a staff member making a mistake, such as mailing sensitive data to unauthorised contacts in error
  • Data breaches that involve some type of malicious act by hackers or cybercriminals who exploit weaknesses in cybersecurity

No matter how a breach of data protection occurs, if the organisation was at fault and you go on to suffer mental or financial damage, you could claim compensation.

Accidental Breach of Data Protection

An accidental breach of data protection could happen because of an oversight or an error. Typically, this would be due to a member of staff making a mistake. The reasons for such a data breach could be:

  • A staff member accidentally sends an email containing your private information to the wrong recipient
  • A laptop or other device is stolen which contained your personal information
  • Your personal data is accidentally published on a website the public has access to
  • A computer screen is left on that displays private data to the public

Malicious Breach of Data Protection

Data controllers and processors are responsible for having robust data protection protocols in place. Computer systems must be secure. However, hackers and cybercriminals still find ways to exploit vulnerabilities. Malicious breach of data protection could involve:

  • Tricking members of staff into divulging login details – known as phishing attacks
  • Malicious software is disguised as genuine downloads
  • Ransomware
  • Spyware

The Consequences of a Breach of Data Protection

The consequences of a breach of data protection can be far-reaching. If sensitive financial data is compromised, you could suffer financial losses. Other sensitive data that may be unlawfully accessed could be:

  • Passport number and information
  • Bank details
  • Credit card information
  • Address and contact phone number
  • National insurance number
  • Medical history

Listed above are just some of the sensitive personal data that could be illegally accessed. The results could be:

  • Financial losses
  • Identity theft
  • Fraud
  • Mental damage, such as stress, anxiety or depression

When you are the victim of identity theft or fraud, the consequences can leave you devastated. The fact a cybercriminal has your home address and contact details can leave you feeling vulnerable. The whole incident could be extremely traumatic more especially when your privacy is compromised in a breach of data protection.

Have you been affected by a data breach and would you like to know if you have grounds to sue? Please get in touch with a Legal Expert adviser to receive free legal advice today.

University GDPR Breach Compensation

The General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR is a piece of EU legislation that all data controllers and processors must abide by. Alongside the Data Protection Act 2018, these laws provide rules that protect how your personal data is used. If an organisation does not comply, it could be fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

There are seven key principles of GDPR that set out how organisations must collect, store and process personal data. A failure on the part of an organisation could result in a breach. If this happens, the event must be reported to the ICO within 72 hours of discovery. The university should also carry out an internal investigation. And if affected, you should be informed of the breach without undue delay.

Although the ICO will likely investigate a university data breach, the authority does not award compensation. If you are seeking data breach compensation, you have to start private legal proceedings. Ideally, this should be with the aid of a data breach lawyer.

Do you need more advice on data protection law? Then please get in touch with one of our expert advisers today.

Which Universities Have Reported Data Protection Breaches?

There were a number of UK universities affected by the Blackbaud data breach. At first, the cloud service provider claimed only personal data was accessed. However, it is suspected that financial data was also unlawfully accessed, though this has yet to be confirmed by Blackbaud or the ICO.

The universities affected included:

As a data processor, acting on behalf of the universities, it’s likely that Blackbaud would be found responsible for this breach as opposed to the institutions listed above.

If you are affected by a university data breach, please get in touch with a member of the Legal Expert team today. We offer a no-obligation consultation that is free of charge.

University Cyber Security Statistics

A survey carried out by Redscan found that 54% of universities in the UK reported a data breach in a 12 month period.

Redscan is a security firm that sent out a Freedom of Information request to universities. 86 universities responded to the request. Most of the institutions admitted they had serious shortcomings in cyber-security.

The report also found that only 46% of staff received awareness training. The report highlighted that universities spent an average of £7,529 per annum on educating their employees. The same was found when it came to students with only 51% proactively providing training in security. However, 37% of universities did provide the resources when students requested them.

Are the victim of a university data breach? Would you like to know if you can seek compensation? A member of the Legal Expert team will review your case and will tell you if you have grounds to sue.

Source: https://www.redscan.com/news/state-of-cybersecurity-uk-universities-foi-report

Cyber Attacks Against Universities

Universities are often targeted by cyber-criminals and hackers. Research carried out by higher education institutions is often of a sensitive nature and valuable. As such, cyber-criminals try to steal the research.

The sort of cyberattacks universities need to fend off include but is not limited to:

  • Phishing emails
  • Spyware
  • Ransomware
  • Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS attacks)
  • Man-in-the-middle attacks
  • SQL injection
  • Zero-day exploit

Universities must have robust cyber-security protocols in place to fend off cyber-attacks. If they do not, cyber-criminals and hackers could find any vulnerabilities and take advantage of them. A cyber breach can result in your personal information being unlawfully accessed.

The result of a university cyber-attack could see sensitive personal information being unlawfully accessed. If the breach was down to the failings of the university, they could be found responsible for the hack by the ICO and issued with a fine, such as in the case of the University of Greenwich.

However, the ICO does not award victims compensation. You need to start legal proceedings yourself and preferably with the assistance of a data breach lawyer.

To find out how Legal Expert can help, please get in contact with an adviser today. One of our advisers will review your case before offering advice on how best to go forward with a claim.

How The Victim Of A Data Breach May Be Compensated

Thanks to a legal precedent set by the Court of Appeal in the case Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015], victims of data breaches can now seek compensation for mental harm even in the absence of financial damage, which was the requirement before this case.

You therefore would not have to suffer a financial loss to seek compensation for distress, anxiety or depression.

If you lost out financially, you could seek compensation for this form of damage too. To quantity such an impact, it would be necessary to analyse your bank accounts, credit ratings and whether your identity has been stolen or impacted in any way.

For more information on data breach compensation, please get in touch with a member of the Legal Expert team today.

How Much Compensation Will I Get For A Winchester University Data Breach?

When you claim for mental harm the amount awarded is based on the severity of the psychological or psychiatric damage you suffered. It’s therefore possible to gain an idea of the value that could be attached to different injuries. And to help you, we have put together a compensation table based on awards taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Edit
Mental harm caused by a data breach Severity Amounts awarded based on the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) Details
Psychological harm Moderate to severe £17,900 – £51,460 Psychological harm suffered is moderate to severe. Long-term treatment and therapy would be required, and the claimant is likely to fully recover after a long period of time
Psychological harm Moderate £5,500 – £17,900 Psychological harm suffered due to a breach of data is moderate. Treatment and therapy is required, and the claimant will fully recover over time
Psychological harm Less severe Up to £5,500 Psychological harm suffered is less severe. Some treatment and therapy is needed but the claimant would fully recover in a short period of time
Psychological harm Severe £51,460 – £108,620 Psychological harm suffered is extremely severe. Long-term treatment and therapy is needed but the claimant is not likely to fully recover from their trauma. As such, a claimant’s future life is negatively impacted

Please note the amounts we have provided in our compensation table are given as a guide. For a more accurate idea of how much you could receive, please speak to a member of the Legal Expert team today.

Can I Claim Compensation For A Data Breach?

We provide everyone who contacts us with an initial, no-obligation consultation. This allows one of our expert advisers the chance to review your case. Once we find you have grounds to sue, one of our data breach solicitors will represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.

Some of the benefits of working with a Legal Expert solicitor includes:

  • You can get in touch any time to receive updates
  • Once you sign the No Win No Fee agreement, the solicitor will handle all aspects of your claim
  • You don’t have to pay upfront or ongoing fees

You don’t have to use a firm of solicitors local to you because all communications can be done by video conferencing, email, or over the phone. As such, please get in touch with one of our advisers for free legal advice today. Your first consultation is free of charge. Furthermore, you don’t have to continue with a claim if you change your mind.

No Win No Fee Data Breach Claims Against The University Of Winchester

As previously mentioned in the section above, we offer all claimants an initial consultation that is free of charge. This allows us to assess your claim. Once we find you have good reason to sue, our experienced data breach lawyers will get to work on your case. You will be offered a No Win No Fee agreement. Under this, you don’t have to pay upfront or ongoing fees.

When you win your case, you will pay the No Win No Fee lawyer a legally capped success fee to cover their costs. The amount is taken from the compensation award before the balance is paid to you. In short, you don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay the solicitor’s fees.

Crucially, if your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay any of your lawyer’s fees.

Please speak to a member of our team today. Find out if you can make a No Win No Fee data breach claim against the University of Winchester.

Contact An Expert

If you are ready to make a data breach claim against the University of Winchester, all you have to do is contact our claims team. An adviser can be reached on 0800 073 8804. A member of the Legal Expert team will thoroughly assess your claim before advising you on how best to proceed. You will receive free legal advice regarding Data breach claims against the University of Winchester.

Other ways you can reach one of our expert advisers:

Related Services

In this final section, we’ve included some other guides and resources you may find useful.

Thanks for reading our guide on data breach claims against the University of Winchester.

Guide by Wood

Edited by Billing

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    • Patrick Mallon

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.

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